Community Water Fluoridation: A Vital 21st Century Public Health Intervention

Grand Rounds is a monthly webcast created to foster discussion on major public health issues. Each session focuses on key challenges related to a specific health topic, and explores cutting-edge scientific evidence and potential impact of different interventions. For nearly 70 years, community water fluoridation (CWF) has been used throughout the U.S. to prevent tooth decay and improve oral health.

Systematic reviews of scientific evidence related to fluoride have concluded that CWF is effective in decreasing the prevalence and severity of dental decay across the lifespan. In 1999, CDC identified fluoridation of drinking water as one of 10 great achievements in public health during the 20th century. Community wide strategies in addition to interventions at the clinical and individual level are critical to maintaining and promoting oral health. Dental caries remains one of the most prevalent chronic diseases of childhood – and only 44.5% of persons in the U.S. visit a dentist or dental clinical annually. Preventable dental conditions were the primary reasons for 830,590 emergency room visits by Americans in 2009! This important session of Grand Rounds will explore the public health impact of CWF including challenges and opportunities for state and local partners. You will also hear about new communications strategies to get important messages out to the communities.

Target audiences for Grand Rounds include but are not limited to dentists and other dental professionals, physicians, nurses, epidemiologists, pharmacists, veterinarians, health education specialists, health communication specialists, laboratorians, and others in the field.

Visit CDC's Public Health Grand Rounds home page, http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/, every third Tuesday at 1 PM to view the live webcast. Registration is not required. This is a great opportunity for you and your colleagues to stay abreast of current public health issues and receive continuing education credits for participation.